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Product Description

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Product Information

Magnificent looking, this box is completely handcrafted by the artisans of India in soapstone. The colorful floral pattern on the lid is done in Pietra Dura Art or Marble Inlay. The box is designed with star-shaped patterns carved in jaali art.

Crafts used in making this product

Pietra Dura

Highly intricate and lengthy, the art of stone-inlaying is inspired from Pietra-Dura work done in the Taj Mahal.

To make this craft, stone slivers are first shaped into stems, petals, and leaves using a manually operated emery wheel. Simultaneously, marble surface is shallow carved that is just enough to embed the stones. Prior to chiselling, marble surface is coated with red earth. This makes the engraved lines stand out thus, making it easier for the artisan to carve and inlay the piece with accuracy. The grooves are then filled with white cement that melts on heating. The marble surface is heated and the stones are laid in. Finally the surface is buffed and polished.

This art is precious because it takes almost 40 small pieces to make a single flower to perfection and it takes few weeks to complete an intricate piece.

Stone Carving Jali Animal

The stone used to make this craft is very soft so it requires only finger pressure to chisel the design.

To begin with, the stone is boiled overnight and then waxed. The desired shape of the animal is created using hand-tools. Holes are drilled in the animal structure with hand drill. These holes are then finely shaped using chisels to form a jaali(open-work). The inside hollows are manually chiseled and the smaller animals are carved inside the bigger animal through the main jaali. And finally, the piece is buffed to finish..

The special thing about this craft is that these are made from 1 block of stone and nowhere any joint is given.